Tales of a Rebound Guy
by musicforlife101
Summary: Formerly called Tale of a Rebound Guy: Stared Down on the Street. Now a collection of oneshots. Campbell tells what it feels like to be in his shoes. Songfics with a Mike/Fi element.
1. Stared Down on the Street

**I was inspired to write this from two places: the fic Fiona's Side by Why Do I Care, and the song Who Is He (And What is He to You) by Bill Withers. I was just thinking that everyone has given Michael and Fiona a chance to express their feelings about Campbell being in the picture, but no one has given the poor guy a chance to tell his story for himself. This is set just before we actually get to meet Campbell on screen.**

_**Campbell POV**_

Walking down the street with my girlfriend is something I enjoy very much. It's beautiful here in Miami and she is just as beautiful and walking with her hand in mine is like a cool drink of water on a summer afternoon. It's just nice and not something I intend to give up just yet. That is what we were doing that day.

_A man we passed just tried to stare me down_

He did, though there was less challenge in his expression and more of something along the lines of jealousy and defiance, but he definitely was staring me down. He was tall, clean cut, and wearing a nice suit.

_And when I looked at you_

_You looked at the ground_

I looked at Fiona to see if she knew who this man was and she was uncharacteristically staring at her feet and the cracks in the sidewalk. Softly, she cleared her throat and continued staring down. She appeared not to notice me looking, but I knew she did by the way she was avoiding looking back at me.

_I don't know who he is_

_But I think that you do_

_Dadgumit_

_Who is he and what is he to you?_

"Who is that guy Fiona?" I asked quietly once we'd walked far enough along to be out of earshot of him. She shrugged her shoulders and attempted to avoid the question. "Who is he and how do you know him?"

"I don't know him," she replied evenly, tugging on my hand so we could keep walking.

_Something in my heart and in your eyes_

_Tell me he's not someone just passing by_

I could just tell by the way she reached up and pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes to keep me from reading in them what she was hiding, though I honestly haven't been able to do it yet. And there's just a feeling settled deep in the pit of my stomach that won't let me forget the way he looked at me and I keep looking over at Fiona for any indication that it was bothering her. I couldn't find any, but maybe I was looking in the wrong places.

_And when you cleared your throat_

_Was that your cue?_

_Dadgumit_

_Who is he and what is he to you?_

Was she clearing her throat to tell him to go away because he was interrupting or being possessive or was she trying to taunt me? Either way, I'm sure it wasn't nothing. I'm not stupid; I know what that look on his face meant, even if I'm still unsure of the reasons behind it.

_When I add the sum of you and me_

_I get confused and I keep coming up with three_

Maybe it was the elusive Michael I have yet to meet. She talks about him, rather fondly, but I always feel like she leaves things out and there are gaping holes in her stories. Holes between the parts of her past that she talks about that are big enough to drive an ambulance through, easily. I just feel like when I started dating Fiona, her friendship, relationship, whatever you want to call it, with Michael came as a package deal whether I ever meet him or not. There are three of us in this relationship: me, her, and the baggage of Michael, though I have yet to figure out what exactly that is. She's really good at avoiding questions without me noticing.

_You're too much for one man_

_But not enough for two_

_Dadgumit_

_Who is he and what is he to you?_

Fiona is this big ball of energy and I figured that out pretty quickly. The hours she works are even stranger than mine. And sometimes she is just too much to handle, though usually when she gets that way she has to work it off. I don't know how she does, but she does. Even though she's too much to handle sometimes, that doesn't make her enough to share. Call me possessive but I don't want to share her with whoever this guy is and so far I'm not so happy sharing with the phone calls, canceled dates, and urgent departures to "work" courtesy of Michael. I just want to know who this guy is and why he looked at me like I was encroaching on his territory.

_You say men don't have much intuition_

_Is that what you're really thinkin' girl_

_Or are you wishin'_

She says she's better at reading people than any man she's ever known, except Michael sometimes, and I wonder if she's just trying to convince herself of that so she won't have to think that I noticed. I hope it was nothing, but my gut and my heart disagree. I don't know what it was about that man, but he didn't make me scared. A tad bit intimidated, maybe, but not scared. What he really made me feel was guilty, like I'd stolen something, or ruined a chance at something important.

_Before you wreck your old home_

_Be certain of the new_

_Dadgumit_

_Who is he and what is he to you?_

If that guy is an ex-boyfriend, maybe she should have waited for proper closure before going out with me. Or if he's not and she would rather ruin this relationship by using him, I sure hope he's ready for it.

Three days later I meet Michael for the first time. He was the man we passed on the street. Today he carefully hides his emotions to appear neutral in front of Fiona. She must have already been looking down when he got close to us a few days ago, so she doesn't know about our exchange. They're both playing it cool, so I will, too. By now, I'm pretty convinced they're ex's, but I'm not sure if I'm the throw away or the rebound guy or the fall guy to ignite Michael's jealousy or the person she would rather be with. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

**So that was Campbell's view of things. Please review and let me know what you thought.**


	2. Winner at a Losing Game

**Originally, the previous chapter was just going to standalone as a one-shot, but I figured it would make a nice collection of stuff from Campbell, even though I never really liked him. I found this and thought it would be good for it. This is how I think Campbell felt when he accepted that the only man Fiona would ever really want was Michael. It's his POV again.**

I was sitting there in Michael's loft when I figured it out. I finally realized that I never had her, not at all. I tried so hard, but I never had a chance. Michael was everything to her and it was clear from the way he was putting up with me being there and doing this job for me that she was everything to him. Who was I to get in the way of that?

_Baby, look here at me_

_Have you ever seen me this way?_

_I've been fumblin' for words_

_Through the tears and the hurt and pain_

I just sat in the driver's seat of the ambulance a week later, still trying to figure out how to say what needed to be said. This couldn't go on any longer. For my sake, for her sake and for Michael's sake. The poor man had been through quite enough from Fiona without me being in the picture to screw things up more.

_I'm gonna lay it all out_

_On the line tonight_

_And I think that it's time_

_To tell this uphill fight goodbye_

I mentally prepared myself for what I was about to do. It was time to end this before all of us got hurt more than we already were. And that sucks because Fiona is a really great girl and this could've been a really great relationship. I turn to look at her and started to speak. "Fiona we need to talk."

_Have you ever had to love someone_

_That just don't feel the same?_

_Trying to make somebody care for you_

_The way I do is like trying to catch the rain_

_And if love is really forever_

_I'm a winner at a losing game_

I tried to pour all of that into that short conversation. I cared about Fiona and I didn't mind helping her on this one last thing, but I couldn't be her interim boyfriend while she tried to get back the guy she really wanted. It was sad that for reasons I didn't know and almost didn't want to know they couldn't or wouldn't be together.

_I know that baby you've tried_

_To find me somewhere inside of you_

_But you know you can't lie_

_Girl, you can't hide the truth, oh no_

It's not for lack of trying that this isn't working. I had no problem finding Fiona interesting and attractive, and I know she tried to at least care for me outwardly, but I know now that there was not near as much of that in her heart. It wasn't because she was trying to be cruel. She just was searching for something and that something wasn't me. I was the rebound guy, the one being used to make Michael jealous. I know that now and I'm not as upset about it as I think I should be. Maybe it's because I know that they really do belong together.

_Sometimes two hearts just can't dance_

_To the same beat_

_So I'll pack up my things_

_And I'll take what remains of me_

It's time for me to leave the picture and let the two of them take center stage. We just aren't compatible the way they are. We don't move together the way they obviously once did and probably still do when I'm not around. I know I make Michael uncomfortable and Fiona tries to make him more uncomfortable, I think. Revenge? Jealousy? I don't know, but I need to step away and let this fix itself.

_Have you ever had to love someone_

_That just don't feel the same?_

_Trying to make somebody care for you_

_The way I do is like trying to catch the rain_

_And if love is really forever_

_I'm a winner at a losing game_

_I know that I'll never be_

_The man you need or love_

_Yeah, baby, it's killing me to stand here and see_

_I'm not what you've been dreaming of_

No matter what I do or how much I try I will never compare to Michael and what he has been to Fiona. He holds a part of her that I will never even see, let alone hold. He has her heart and that is saying something because she doesn't just give it away. I wish I could be a fly on the wall sometimes or read that man's thoughts, because he understands her better than I ever could. I know they have a history, but I get the impression that he's been able to get inside her head from the beginning and vice versa. That seems impossible for our relationship. The fact that he obviously loves her is the main reason I have to go. I wish them luck.

_Have you ever had to love someone_

_That just don't feel the same?_

_Trying to make somebody care for you_

_The way I do is like trying to catch the rain_

_And if love is really forever_

_I'm a winner at a losing game_

_And if love is really forever_

_I'm a winner at a losing game_

I feel for Michael because, while I am a winner at a losing game, he's a loser at a winning game. He already has her heart and her love, but there is too much water under the bridge for things to be how they should. That's why he needs this more than I do.

_I'm tired of losing_

And I'm rooting for Michael to win.


End file.
